Man to the Moon - Children's Theatre
This play sees young Turíbio, son of a shoemaker, who aspires to become an astronomer but who feels all alone and misunderstood by a father who simply wants his son to stop dreaming and to follow the family trade.
Turíbio creates an imaginary friend for himself, a young girl called Tetê - someone to understand his dreams. One day they visit a kindly old man with a vivid imagination, a retired History teacher called Professor Coimbra, who much to the amazement of Turíbio can also see Tetê!
Prof Coimbra, who by now is almost blind, has invented a Time Machine which allows him to bring to life characters and important people from the past. Turíbio tells of his love of Space and the stars and so the Professor invites to visit them the scientists who made the moon landing possible, those such as Ptolomy, Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, who come to life and explain their discoveries in a fun and easy way.
However, like every good tale the villain of the plot Pluto Plutonium tries his evil best to ruin their plans and steal the Time Machine for himself.
Turíbio creates an imaginary friend for himself, a young girl called Tetê - someone to understand his dreams. One day they visit a kindly old man with a vivid imagination, a retired History teacher called Professor Coimbra, who much to the amazement of Turíbio can also see Tetê!
Prof Coimbra, who by now is almost blind, has invented a Time Machine which allows him to bring to life characters and important people from the past. Turíbio tells of his love of Space and the stars and so the Professor invites to visit them the scientists who made the moon landing possible, those such as Ptolomy, Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, who come to life and explain their discoveries in a fun and easy way.
However, like every good tale the villain of the plot Pluto Plutonium tries his evil best to ruin their plans and steal the Time Machine for himself.
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The play was written In a round about way at the request of NASA astronaut and second man to step on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin. I was at an International Congress in Austria, 1993, when he addressed the audience and asked that all those present go back to their home countries and do 'something special' to celebrate the forthcoming 25th anniversary of the 1969 Moon landing. Inspired by the words of one of my childhood heroes, I proceeded to write this children's play that incorporates some of the science that made possible those first steps on the Moon. Consigned to a desk drawer and forgotten for a few years, the play was eventually dusted off and performed for the first time in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2006. A play performed by children for children. |
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